Glory by Jesse
by yoplait2000
Summary: This takes place after "Life Line", so there may be some hints of spoilers included. Just a warning.


Hi everyone. Just thought I'd post my un-beta-ed story.

Still waiting on you, Gay. ;)

Let me know what you all think! Honesty is asked for. *G* Thanks.

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Title: Glory  
Author: Jesse  
Feedback: chartreux...  
Rated: PG  
Comments: Whatever...  
SPOILERS: This takes place after "Life Line", so there may be some hints of  
spoilers included. Just a warning.  
Disclaimer: Stuff isn't mine.

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Seven sat quietly in the Mess Hall staring at the PADDs in front of her.  
Captain Janeway had instructed her to look over the information presented by  
Starfleet. The data stream that the MIDAS array had sent to the Delta  
Quadrant was full of updated tactical and engineering philosophies. But as  
much as Seven wanted to perform her duties, she found herself incredibly  
distracted by thoughts of the previous days.

The worry in her chest tightened with each thought of returning to her  
native planet. She stared down at the table in front of her, caught up in  
the images running through her mind. Her breathing became more shallow as a  
small anxiety creeped up her body. She actively wondered what would become  
of her in the Alpha Quadrant. She was not readily accepted on Voyager, and  
she knew she would not have an easy time back on Earth. She wished to stay  
on the ship, to continue to perform the duties she was assigned here, but  
she was not Starfleet. She had an unnerving feeling that she would be taken  
away from the only real home she had, to be interrogated and studied by  
those who she was assured would accept her.

Seven let out a held breath and blinked lightly. She absent-mindedly ran her  
thumb over the PADD in her hot palm. She glanced up and looked around the  
room. The hall was quite busy, with various crewmembers milling about, happy  
in their thoughts. The surrounding feeling was one of hope. These people  
wanted to get home. Seven turned back to stare out the window at the stars.  
Her thoughts turned to those of the crewmates she was closest to. She  
worried that, with the return to Earth, she would be separated from them.  
These people were her collective, her......family. They were they only  
people she knew, and she cared deeply for them. Her thoughts rested on one  
person in particular. The Doctor was the one she was closest to, the only  
one who treated her with complete respect, never doubting her. And she found  
herself not worrying about what would happen to her when they returned to  
the Alpha Quadrant, but what would become of him. She clenched the PADD  
tightly. Suddenly burning with a nervous energy, she bolted upright from her  
chair and swiftly left the room, leaving behind all of her data.

Captain Janeway sat in her ready room, teeth clenched, cup of coal-black  
coffee in hand. She breathed slowly and steadily, thinking deeply about the  
events that had transpired recently. She leaned back carefully, and swiveled  
so she could look at the bright stars outside of the ship. She took a sip of  
her drink and let her mind wander. Admiral Hayes' message had left her  
shaky. While she knew she would have to deal with the status of her ship at  
some point in time, she wasn't prepared for the idea of only five or six  
years. She wasn't prepared. She thought she would have more time.

She frowned slightly. Not only did she have Maquis criminals serving aboard  
her vessel, but she also had alien passengers, children, ex-drones, a  
hologram, and Tom Paris. She sighed. She had come to trust each of these  
people with more than just her life. She trusted them with the lives of the  
entire crew. She couldn't face the cold reality of what the Federation would  
have in mind for them. Not only would she be reduced to just another captain  
in Starfleet, which she didn't like but would accept without question, but  
she would, in all reality, have an entire new crew to deal with. The thought  
was heartbreaking. The idea of an uneven glory had sunk almost unconsciously  
into her mind. She realized now that there was no reason for her to enter  
back into Starfleet with any kind of conceit.

But there was more on her mind than just her own self image. She worried  
about the ramifications of what had occured in the Delta Quadrant. Her  
Maquis crew would surely be taken to prison, as would Paris. Chakotay,  
B'Elanna and Tom meant more to her than she could ever say. Her entire crew  
meant more to her than she ever would have imagined. Her thoughts saddened.  
She had been so preoccupied with getting back home, to Earth, that she had  
completely missed the transformation that had taken place. Voyager was her  
home now. Earth had nothing to offer except sorrow.

Sorrow......the word became more real with each passing second. Prison,  
interrogation, experimentation...all these things could very well become  
life for a few members of her crew. They could take away Seven, the  
children, the Doctor.... all for what? Questions? Experiments? And what if  
they were allowed to carry on as if nothing unusual had happened to them?  
What kind of life would they lead? The human trait for cruelty was still  
very much alive in society.

Kathryn shook her head softly and closed her eyes. Her thoughts travelled to  
the rest of her crew. Harry Kim, Tuvok, all the others....these people had  
no reason to fear going home. It was unfair of her to even consider the  
things she found herself unwittingly considering. The people on Voyager had  
families, people who they cared about. That meant something, too.

She was broken from her silence by a chime at the door.

"Come in," she said as she turned in her chair. She set her cup on her desk  
as Seven entered the room.

The young woman looked upset. Her pale blue colored eyes shimmered with  
tension. Her breathing was labored, her chest rising and falling in  
exaggerated movements. Her fists were balled up at her sides, and she stood  
stiffly, her mouth creeping into a sad frown.

Captain Janeway stared at her with worry. "Seven, is something wrong?"

Seven trembled slightly at the words. She swallowed hard and gathered up  
every ounce of control she could find before she spoke. Her voice betrayed  
her emotion. "What will become of us when we arrive in the Alpha Quadrant?"

Kathryn bit her cheek as she ventured a question. "Us?" she asked with a  
soothing softness.

Seven found herself answering without thinking. "The Doctor. What will  
become of the Doctor?"

The Captain leaned back in her chair before getting up and walking over to  
the angry Borg. She looked deeply into her eyes. "I don't know, Seven. But I  
promise you, I will do everything in my power to make sure the Doctor, and  
the rest of my crew, including you, are taken care of. I won't allow them to  
destroy what you have all accomplished."

Seven seemed momentarily relieved before a hardness took over her face.  
"That is not good enough."

Kathryn leaned into her desk. She looked to the floor as she spoke. "Seven,"  
she paused, and looked up into the young woman's glaring eyes, "That's all I  
can promise you. I won't let them do anything to you."

"The Doctor. What about the Doctor?"

"I won't allow them to hurt him, either. Starfleet is reasonable, Seven.  
They'll see how far everyone has progressed. There's *no* reason for them to  
have anything to fear from any one of you."

Seven cast her eyes to the side, hesitating briefly. She let out a defeated  
breath. With a barely audible softness in her hurt voice, Seven thanked the  
Captain and quickly left the room. Janeway stared after her, and continued  
her glance down the now closed door to the carpet below. The tension in her  
body began to numb her arms and legs. She sat up on the top of her desk and  
rubbed her closed eyes with a deadening stiffness. She sat silently, quietly  
thinking for several minutes before her piling duties beckoned her back to  
reality.

The Doctor sat motionless in his office. It had never occured to him that he  
might be considered obsolete, and at this moment it was all he could think  
about.

Of course, he being more than the sum of his programming would have to be  
taken into consideration. And he had the support of Voyager's crew, not to  
mention Dr. Zimmerman and the few Starfleet members on Jupiter Station. He  
wouldn't be decompiled. Captain Janeway wouldn't allow that.

He absent-mindedly pushed a piece of lint from his uniform. He fully  
realized that he didn't actually want to go to Earth. He had been in the  
Alpha Quadrant, and it was no better than it was here. In fact, he would  
prefer to stay on Voyager with the people who accepted him. Voyager was his  
home.

He glanced up to the tricorder on his desk. He touched it softly as his  
thoughts moved to a different scenario. Even if he *was* accepted by the  
Alpha Quadrant population, he deeply worried about how the others would be  
treated. The others......he shook his head quietly. He knew he meant Seven.  
She was the real concern on his mind.

He frowned as he considered what could become of her. How she would adapt.  
He worried he would never see her again. The Captain would protect her, but  
he loved her. And those feelings wouldn't disappear just because they had  
found their way back to Earth. He needed her to be near. He clenched his jaw  
as the realization dawned on him.....even with all the assurances, none of  
this was permanent. He could very well lose her.

The Doctor was so caught up in his overwhelming emotions that he didn't  
notice the swoosh of Sickbay's doors. Seven of Nine stepped forward quietly  
and stood in the archway of the EMH's office. He hadn't noticed her  
yet....he seemed mesmerized by his own thoughts.

Sitting at his desk, the Doctor suddenly became aware of another presence.  
He slowly turned his head to see Seven standing in his doorway. She looked  
pained, as though everything he had been feeling had somehow been projected  
onto her. She didn't smile, and neither did he. He simply looked at her,  
infinite understanding moving between them.

Seven moved slowly and walked carefully to the chair in front of the  
Doctor's desk. He watched as she sat down quietly and crossed her legs. She  
held his gaze for a precious few moments before she clasped her hands on her  
lap and spoke.

"When we arrive at Earth, will you...," she hesitated, "...remain...with  
me?"

The Doctor regarded the woman before him with a relieved demeanor. He leaned  
forward, looked steadily into her dimmed eyes, and whispered, "Always."

Seven's frown broke slightly, allowing a shine of a smile to sneak through.  
She exhaled a held breath peacefully, and her eyes brightened slowly.  
"Good," was the only word that escaped her lips.

The Doctor smiled warmly, his eyes speaking compassionately. Seven glanced  
downward as she stood up. Pausing only briefly, she ventured out of her  
friend's office, gazing behind her as she exited Sickbay's doors.

He sighed tensely as the doors shut behind her. Leaning back, he smiled as  
he realized that they would work through whatever came their way. They  
always had. His worry was intense, but the relief he felt after the woman he  
loved asked to stay with him through any unpredictability nearly erased the  
pain within him and replaced it with a growing hope.

the end


End file.
